Clash in the Elemental Countries
by Servant of Agape
Summary: When forces from different parts of the world and beyond, meet in the Elemental Countries, will they survive the test that is the whirlpool of fate that the region is known to be? Three-way X-Over: SW, IC, Naruto. Rating may change over time.
1. Chapter One

**Gah, I hate myself. I am such a traitor. I apologize to the readers of the Jedi and the Rider for not posting anything in months for that story. I can assure you, I have been working on it, but then life hit me. Life is defined here as writer's block, school work, chores, and depression (don't ask about that last one.) Anyways, I hope you have an interest in this story. I promise to the fans of Jedi & Rider to try to get the next portion out before my classes start.**

**To you Naruto fans! My knowledge of the Japanese language and the original Japanese dub is very limited so some wording will not sound like what you are familiar with. For example, I may replace Konoha with the Hidden Leaf, etc. Honorifics will stay, but again, I'm not to familiar with how the address each other in Japanese. You have been warned.**

**Disclaimer: I will say it once so don't demand one per chapter. I do not own the awesomeness of the shinobi, Jedi, and Shur'tugal that is Naruto, Star Wars, and Inheritance respectively.**

**************3-way X-Over of Naruto, Inheritance, and Star Wars.**

**********Primary characters: Ismira, Vervada, Ahsoka, & Naruto**

******Full summary:**

**Three Riders and Dragons of the Order of Shur'tugal pursue a rogue member. Two refugees of the fallen Galactic Republic seek refuge from those who hunt them. What happens when these very different forces meet together in the whirlpool of fate known as the Elemental Countries? With the Akatsuki threat looming over the sninobi world, will they pull through it and survive? Will they complete what they came to do?**

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**Clash in the Elemental Countries**

**Chapter One**

The ground below them flew past, blurring the trees of the great expanse of forest. To the average person taking a bird's eye view, they would say that it was a phenomenal work of nature for such a great forest to exist. To the Rider and Dragon, it was not even close to Du Weldenvarden, the forest of the elves. Nevertheless, it was still quite an impressive sight.

_Impressive, you think. A small thunder can burn it within a day._

The dragon's rider refrained from rolling her eyes. The last time she had done that, she had barely escaped the resulting inferno. _There is no need to exaggerate, Vervada. A forest this size would take a week at least to burn down. _The return snort sent up a plume of smoke that made her eyes water.

_So you say, Ismira of Stronghammer. So you say._

_ I thought I told you I hated being called that. _The Rider called Ismira got a deep rumbling chuckle from Vervada in reply.

_You don't need to take things so seriously, sweet one, _the violet dragon joked.

_Oh? Wasn't it you who nearly roasted me countless times for bad jokes? _Ismira got another plume of smoke in her face in answer. _Who was it then that took things too seriously?_

Ismira was a tall and beautiful woman. She seemed thin, but not skinny. Her long copper hair was tied in a ponytail the fell to the small of her back. Her face was half-way through her transformation to looking like an elf, her ears having slight points, and her face more angled than other human women her age. She had a slender body that belied her ability in battle. She became a Rider at the selection six years ago when she was ten. The egg that had hatched for her was a deep amethyst with white veins. Three days later, she was taken to Ellesmera to begin her basic tutelage under Queen Arya. It was a tearful parting when she left her family. Her basic tutelage included the history of Alagaesia and all its races, and the history of the Riders and dragons. Her tutelage under the elven queen also included battle and survival skills. When she had undergone a year of training, she was deemed fit for a Rider's sword. The sword she received was Arvindr, the Eagle-Wind, the hand-and-a-half sword now tied at her hip. It was then that they were deemed fit to train under Eragon.

The elven queen had escorted them to the distant land of the riders. The flight lasted a week. Upon arrival, they were shocked. The land was simply beautiful. It was a tropical region with large forests and high mountains that bordered the sea in the east, and savannas to the south of the forest. The place was simply perfect for dragons. The forests bordering the sea and grassy plains to the south would be home to the food that dragons hunted. The mountains on its western side of the forest would provide places for the dragons to nest. The sea brought in the cool wind that the dragons love when flying, and prevented the region from drying completely. Perfect for dragons.

Vervada was one of the eggs recovered from the Vault of Souls. When she had hatched for Ismira, they developed a cautious liking to each other. As their time together extended, they grew closer and closer to each other. Vervada had not chosen her name until a particular lesson on the wild dragons' history with Fírnen where she had decided to name herself after the Stormcleaver. Training under Firnen, she grew used toWhen they had arrived at the Land of the Riders, she felt a sense of excitement at seeing the place. It suited every single one of the dragons' needs and preferences. It was then that she knew that it would be her home.

When they were taken to the residence of the Riders, they were shocked by the simplicity of it all. The residences were merely hollowed out caves in the mountains with some furniture and personal effects on the side, and a large space in the center, presumably for the dragon to sleep in. Not what Ismira had expected from such a legendary figure. Vervada had just said that it is suitable enough for a dragon. They quickly overcame their shock when they met up with their teachers. Eragon looked surprisingly young and handsome, albeit ruggedly so; appearing to only be twenty. The simplicity of his clothes nearly made them question his identity; the only thing that prevented that was the massive sapphire dragoness that stood behind him.

In their new home, the two newcomers found that they had several classmates of various races. Majority were elves and humans, but they found several dwarves and urgals. Another surprise was that the dragons far outnumbered the Riders. There were only about twenty other Riders and bonded dragons. Eragon had explained to them that not all eggs found were bound to the Riders. Barely a quarter of a hundred were meant for the riders and the rest were wild. Most of them had hatched in this land due to the ideal climate and biodiversity.

They wasted no time in introductions and immediately got to the second stage of their education. Initially, they started with a small assessment test to evaluate their competency. They went into advanced survival and battle training, and also went into diplomatic training. Their knowledge of history and culture and the sciences of the world was expanded exponentially. Eventually, after undergoing three additional years of training and discipline, they were taught the art of magic. The exercises Ismira was instructed to do at the beginning were completely ridiculous, such as filling an ever draining tub with water. The exercises worked very well, forcing her to unlock that hidden power within. So began her training in gramarye and her education in the Ancient Language. It was during this period of training under Eragon that it was discovered that she had a talent for languages. She had already spent a time with the elves of Du Weldenvarden so she was somewhat familiar with the concepts of the Ancient Language. Her talent for language was even greater than initially discovered as she quickly learned some of the Dwarven and Urgal languages as well. They had progressed well and far and are a promising pair to be soon named as fully fledged Rider and Dragon. But, they still had a ways to go.

_Instead of jibing at me, why don't you keep on the lookout for Eolus and Vindr? _the dragon shot back.

_ I'm paying attention, _Ismira replied, slightly indignant._ But seeing the same landscape for three days straight gets boring, and I thought we could use a conversation to pass the time._

Vervada snorted a third time. _Suit yourself. But Faendal and Glaurung, the perfectionists they are, will have our hides if we just flew past our target without checking. _Ismira nodded; she had to agree with that. Faendal and Glaurung were notorious for their harsh punishments of anything less than their view of perfect. It was an issue in the Riders that led to numerous hour-long debates with Ismira's uncle Eragon who preferred the more encouraging approach.

Very recently, a pair of the older students, an elf named Eolus and his dragon Vindr went rogue, stealing valuable items from the Rider library, murdering a fellow Rider and her dragon who were standing guard and fleeing eastward. Eragon had dispatched Ismira and Vervada, Faendal and Glaurung, and another rider-dragon pair. Eragon wouldn't say what was stolen, but said that Eolus and Vindr were to be captured or killed, and what was stolen to be returned. They were forbidden from looking at what was stolen, but to confirm if it was there through any means necessary. Faendal and Glaurung were selected to lead the small pursuit force as they were the only fully fledged rider and dragon available to lead. When questioned why Eragon wasn't coming, he merely stated that he had to remain to keep the rest of the riders and dragons under control. The reason they had been selected for this is because they were the most advanced and trusted of Eragon's students, or so he said.

As they departed, Faendal immediately made use of his authority, affirming his position and making sure all orders given were followed. Once they had lost the trail, he ordered them to fan out, him to head southeast, Ismira to head east, and the third pair to fly northeast. They were to make contact with each other through scrying mirrors everyday once after dawn, once at noon, and once after nightfall. They were to contact the others as soon as Eolus and Vindr have been found, and to trail them and not to engage unless absolutely necessary. He threatened to flay their hides off should they miss anything relevant or leave out any detail when reporting.

_Hopefully, he'll forget himself and use that word to describe his methods, _Ismira was one incident where Faendal had threatened to use "draconian methods" to get the students to behave. The wording of that threat had resulted in said teacher nearly being eaten, skewered, roasted, or shredded by the dragons in the vicinity. As it turns out, the word draconian is only to be used when either you have a decent chance of escaping giant fire-breathing flying reptiles, or if your methods of discipline actually met dragon standards. Needless to say, the elf had learned the hard way not to mock the word dragon. Faendal's wording had been more considerate towards the dragons after that.

Noting the darkening orange hue of the sunset sky, Ismira told Vervada to land so they could make camp. The massive amethyst-scaled dragon spotted a nearby clearing and glided down in a circle. Once on the ground, Ismira jumped off, landing on bent knees to soften her fall. As Vervada lay down on the ground to stretch, Ismira took the opportunity to grab her saddle bag and set up camp.

Setting up camp was a quick and simple process. It basically consisted of Ismira laying down a sleeping mat and starting up a fire while Vervada hunts for game. The large amethyst dragon returned with a young buck in her talons, its neck bent at an odd angle. _Take the meat you want already so I can eat it. I'm starving! _Ismira laughed at that, heading to the buck to skin it. Unlike her uncle, she had no qualms over eating meat. Meat existed for a reason and that was to be eaten. Although, her meditation exercises made her respect the animal's will and determination to live a little bit more than she had when she was younger.

Hearing a rustle behind her, she turned around to get a look, hand on her sword. A small fox appeared, eyeing the buck carcass hungrily. Cutting a piece of meat off, Ismira tossed the venison to the fox which caught it in its jaws before padding off. "I forgot to put up the wards to keep out scavengers." Vervada snorted the fourth puff of smoke in her face that day. "Yeah, I know. Careless of me."

She was about to learn just how careless she was. A rustle was heard in the bushes and an arrow flew out, piercing Ismira's shoulder. Her scream of pain was quickly followed by Vervada's roar of rage and another arrow flew, now aimed to to pierce her heart. The arrow was deflected by a long violet-scaled leg. Vervada's roar of challenge was soon echoed throughout the forest, daring them to come and face her wrath. A roar of acceptance, deeper and even more ferocious, echoed, as a sudden gust came, putting out the fire and a very large, almost twice as large as Vervada, silver-grey dragon descended upon them. Dragon flame began lighting up the night, setting the treetops ablaze.

_Ismira! _Vervada roared, throwing herself at the other dragon, not allowing him any room to land._ Get your mirror! Alert Faendal and Glaurung!_

Ismira jumped for her bag, rummaging through it to reach her scrying mirror. As she pulled it out and was about to prepare the spell, another arrow shot out and snatched the mirror out of Ismira's hand, pinning it against a tree. The arrow had pierced the glass, shattering it. Cursing her carelessness, Ismira stood and pulled Arvindr out of its scabbard. Looking around for the hidden assailant, she reached for the arrow embedded on her shoulder. Gritting her teeth, she pulled it out. Holding off the pain, she muttered the healing spell. "Waíse heill." She felt her wound close over and the pain recede as she tested her shoulder to see if it still functioned properly. Looking in the general direction of the bushes, she extended her mind, searching for her assailant. "I know you're there Eolus. It is rude to sneak up on a lady."

Out of the bushes stepped out an elf, tall and fierce, white-haired, and grey-eyed. He wore a white tunic with silver embroidery, along with simple breeches, and wore a belt from which hung a long thin silver one-sided sword, curved near the tip. Its name, written in the glyphs of the Liduen Kvaedi upon the sheath, was Kvámavedhr. The coming storm. "Ismira," he sneered. "I never thought they'd send you. Ebrithil must be desperate."

"Your arrogance will get the better of you, you blasted elf," Ismira shot back with a glare. "You have caused our Order a lot of grief."

"Bah, what do I care? I seek greater powers than what the Shur'tugal can offer. But I can't have you stop me. Jierda!" The casual use of magic caught Ismira off guard as an invisible force struck her in the stomach and she was sent flying into a tree. "Jierda!" A large branch snapped off the tree and fell down towards Ismira. "Brisingr!" The branch caught fire. Ismira, seeing the danger, rolled to the side, avoiding the burning piece of wood.

"You'll have to do better than that," Ismira challenged. She suddenly doubled over, her side flaring in pain. It was strange; there was no wound there from what she felt. It could only mean... "Vervada!"

_I'm alright. Focus on your own opponent! I'll keep Vindr away from you, but this is not easy._

_This is not as easy at it looks. Unlike you, I can't just eat every person that bothers me. _Ismira held out Arvindr in front of her, wielding it two-handed. "Well, come on. Show me that supposed skill you blasted elves have."

She should not have said that. She had only raised her blade in time to block Eolus' running slash to her neck and he had pushed her blade back, nearly close enough to cut into her shoulder. His follow up strikes were just as sudden and quick, if not more. He was as unpredictable as he was quick. One moment, he stabbed at her eyes, the next, he slashed at her ankles. It was all Ismira could do to keep up and block the powerful blows. Overhead. High slash. Mid-level stab. High stab. Low slash. Backhand. Forehand. Low. High. Left. Left. Below. The blows came from all directions at speed almost faster than the human eye could keep up with, only letting up when forced to jump out of the way of falling burning branches. Ismira realized the humiliating truth. Eolus was merely toying with her. In one final motion, Eolus twirled his blade around hers and sent Arvindr flying out of her grip before taking advantage of her surprise and slashed at chest.

Ismira had enough common sense to back off once she was disarmed, but due to the elf's superior speed, her shoulder was cut open. Staggering back, she muttered a stream of curses at the elf. "I expected more from Ebrithil's niece and Stronghammer's daughter. Your race exaggerates their praise I think."

"Shut it," she growled back, clutching her wound. "What are you searching for that cannot be found with the Riders?"

The elf merely smirked. "If you survive long enough, maybe you will find out." His face resumed its blank unreadable state. "Vindr! It is time to leave." The silver dragon dived down, swooping over them. Not waiting for his dragon to land, Vindr leapt into the air, landing gracefully on Vindr's front paw. "Until next time, my fellow Shur'tugal!" He climbed into Vindr's saddle as they flew off.

Ismira glared after them, wondering what he meant. She walked over to her blade and picked it up, cleaning the dirt off. As she was thinking, something felt wrong in her gut. Something was missing. She looked around the clearing. Nothing was there. It was quiet. Too quiet. Nothing was there but her. _I guess I'm alone here. _Her eyes widened with realization. "Vervada!" She extended her mind and looked around frantically, trying to locate her partner of heart and mind. Sensing that she was not far, she ran off through the burning trees in the general direction of her dragon. She had tripped at least ten times in her frantic search.

Finally spotting an amethyst hue, she broke into a full sprint, ignoring the roots and pebbles threatening to trip her over. Reaching her dragon, she suddenly stopped in shock. The amethyst dragon was covered in numerous wounds, several of which could prove fatal if left untended. She had numerous gashes, shallow, but large, spread across her torso, limbs and tail. Then there were the bite marks. She had some at the base of her neck, along her tail, and along her spine and flanks. Ismira feared that what she saw wasn't the entirety of the injuries. Running to her dragon, she tried reaching into her mind while examining the state of her injuries. From what she could tell, she would die from blood loss by dawn. Finally able to access her unconscious mind, Ismira was forced to revise her earlier conclusion. If not tended to immediately, Vervada would die within three hours. Numerous bones were broken and she was suffering from extensive internal bleeding. Some of the bone fragments had punctured her organs. Scrambling for her bag, she pulled out numerous books and scrolls on medicine, a first aid kit, a scroll on dragon anatomy, a bottle of faelnirv, and, most importantly, a scroll details on healing the organs of dragons.

Quickly reviewing her available healing knowledge, and taking a sip from the faelnirv, Ismira got to work. She focused on staunching the bleeding inside before making repairs to the damaged organs. She had to be careful. If she shaped the organ in the wrong way, it could severely impair her. She could afford no mistakes with her partner's life on the line. Numerous times, she had to extract the bone from the damaged organ and set the bone in place where it should be. When she finished a patch up of the internal organs, she was already forced to draw upon the stored energy within the amethyst of Arvindr. She was only half-way through the healing and she was already exhausted. She then began directing her focus on healing the more threatening wounds. She worked on the numerous bite wounds, starting with the one at the base of the neck, working down the spine. Soon enough, after healing three more wounds, Ismira emptied the amethyst and was forced to draw upon Vervada's remaining energy, but only a trickle. She would not heal Vervada's wounds only to have her die from the lack of energy to live.

Finally, she was forced to stop, lest she kill herself. Examining her handiwork, she was finally satisfied that Vervada would at least not bleed to death. Leaning against the belly of her partner, she felt exhaustion take over, forcing her eyes closed. Her last memory before darkness took her was of the warmth of Vervada's belly and the appearance of ten masked men diving down from the trees.

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**Notes on Translation for words not listed in Paolini's available dictionaries:**

**vedhr = storm; etymology: Old Norse, veðr meaning storm, weather, wind**

**kváma = coming; etymology: Old Norse meaning arrival**

**kvámavedhr = literally, coming storm**


	2. Chapter Two

**I'm on a roll! Wow, this is more than I can usually pull off. My normal speed is once a month. I guess descriptive plot lines and a clear vision help after all. Now, here you go my readers!**

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**Clash in the Elemental Countries**

**Chapter Two**

The bed offered little comfort to her. Sleep offered only nightmares. Awake, she was faced with harsh reality. In meditation, she was confronted by the screams of her friends and comrades and their faces as they died. Nothing could comfort her. Sighing, Ahsoka got up from bed, took her cloak, and headed to the bridge. The ship she was on was a small and simple cargo freighter - a YT-1300 they had somehow managed to acquire - that had made a blind jump in a desperate attempt to escape the Imperials.

It had been a year since Order 66, but everything that happened was still brutally fresh in her mind. For the past year, she had been running and hiding, desperate to find her friends, now lost, and struggling to find refuge. Somehow, through some stroke of dumb luck, she found one of her friends alive and well.

"Up already?" a voice, male, sounded from the pilot's seat.

"Couldn't sleep," the togruta answered, sitting beside him. "Why don't you get some rest?"

"I'm not that tired," Lux Bonterri replied, smiling at her. "Besides, someone has to keep an eye on the navicomputer after that blind jump you pulled."

"It was not like I had a choice," she retorted angrily, glowering slightly. "It was either that or get caught in a tractor beam."

Lux shrugged, conceding the point. "At least we're heading for a planet out of Imperial range."

"Good thing. Let's hope it's a place we can actually _stay _in."

The depression in her voice was not lost on the former separatist. "Let's hope so," he whispered to himself. Looking at the togruta, he saw her looking over at the navicomputer. "We should be there in half a day. Just rest until then." He got a nod and tired sigh in answer as she closed her eyes.

It was a miracle that she managed to run into Lux Bonteri, former Senator of the Separatist Confederacy, and old friend to Ahsoka. It was during an incident on Kashyyk where she had run in with some Imperial slavers that demanded her identification. As she had none on her, she would have been detained and enslaved. And she would have had two things not happened. The first one, majority of the non-humans present, mostly wookiees, began to riot. The resulting chaos distracted the guards long enough for her to make a run for it. However, when she got there, the ships were guarded heavily and she nearly ran into the trap when another trooper had grabbed her from behind and warned her to keep quiet. Practically dragging her to another ship, they managed to bypass the guards and leave the system relatively unscathed. Once in hyperspace, Ahsoka demanded an explanation, threatening to "relieve your shoulders of the need to carry a head." Not wanting to die before explaining himself, the trooper replied. He simply removed his helmet and smiled. It was the last person Ahsoka would have expected to see. Lux Bonteri.

After a lengthy explanation on how he had infiltrated the empire, looking for any refugees, Ahsoka accepted him as a companion and they traveled together, searching for Jedi survivors and refugees from the Empire, bringing them out of Imperial space. With the Jedi, there was little luck, but they had found more than a few refugees. Their business, however, did not go unnoticed by the Empire. There were several ambushes staged by the Imperials that the pair had barely escaped from. It was one of those ambushes that got them in the situation they were in now. Cut off from the refugees and more stormtroopers and Vader closing in, they were forced to leave and abandon the refugees to escape. It was not something either was happy about, but they were left with little choice. Even in space they were ambushed. Fighters and Star Destroyers cut off their escape just before they could dial in coordinates and jump. Making a desperate move, Ahsoka activated the hyperdrive blindly and managed to get them away. They were lucky they were headed for this planet and not a star or anything else even remotely dangerous.

True to earlier Lux's words, they got there in another twelve hours, and they appeared on the night side of the planet. Lux looked over to his friend, who had fallen asleep despite her earlier qualms, and reached over, shaking her shoulder. "Hey. Ahsoka, we're here."

Groaning, Ahsoka opened her eyes and blinked a few times to let her eyes adjust. She looked around, saw Lux shaking her shoulder gently, then out the viewport. Scowling, she gave Lux a rather annoyed look. "The least you could have done was bring us out on the daylit side of the planet. I really don't want a case of jetlag, especially if we get into trouble."

"I thought it best that we appear on the night side. Less noticeable," Lux explained, smiling calmly.

"Well, at least we won't be noticed as we land," Ahsoka said, turning back to the controls. "Let's get down. Activate scanners. I don't want any surprises." Imperials had nearly caught them too many times to be lax and careless.

Lux nodded in reply, activating the scanners and checking the readout. Smiling at what he saw, he said to Ahsoka, "Well, I can guarantee that it is Imperial free. Highest weapon tech would be something like a slug launcher and rather primitive at that. They only have radio signals for communication at best. We're safe here."

Ahsoka let out a small smile of relief. One of the few in a long time. "Safe." It was said softly, but Lux heard the relief in her voice. The ship descended down to the planet. From the scan, they found the planet to be quite biodiverse. Tropical rainforests, wide oceans, ten mile high mountains, island chains, deserts, every single possible planetary biome was present. The planet seemed to resonate with life and the Force. It seemed so... untainted, and pure without all the technology. "It certainly feels safe."

"A Force sense?" the boy asked, looking at her curiously.

"You could say that. It's more a feeling than anything I can be certain of."

As the ship descended, the caught a view of where they would land. It was a clearing in the middle of a great expanse of forest. As they went down, Ahsoka swore she saw a flash of silver that disappeared as quickly as it came.

"We've landed near one of the populated areas," Lux told her. "We should go check it out come morning."

"Well, hopefully, they won't think us mutants or freaks of nature," Ahsoka said. "We don't even know the primary sentient species is on this planet."

"We could always say we're from outer space."

A snort. "Right. If they're as primitive as you say, there is probably no chance of that happening." She wouldn't admit it, but the racist policies of the Empire had gotten to her, and were making her paranoid.

"Who knows? We might be lucky."

"Since when have we ever been lucky? Need I list off?"

"Touché."

"Glad we got that settled. Now why don't _you _go to sleep, while _I _keep watch this time."

"You should get some rest too. What could possibly happen to this ship in one night on a primitive planet?"

"Anything, if we know nothing. I'll sleep, but only as long as you leave the shields on." She had a tired look in her features. Her nights were never kind to her.

Lux sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not sleeping until I'm sure you are. You need your rest, Ahsoka."

"I'm fine, Lux. You don't need to watch me." In truth, she didn't want him to see her thrash in her sleep. She hadn't told him about her nightmares and wasn't about to any time soon.

Lux gave her what seemed to be a knowing look. "If that's what you're comfortable with... then go ahead. Just promise me you'll get some sleep."

Ahsoka sighed and looked up at him. "Alright, I'll sleep. But don't let me catch you looking into my room, or else."

Lux chuckled, and blushed a bit at the insinuation. "Well, alright. But if you need to talk, don't hesitate to ask me, alright?"

"You'll be the first one I come to," Ahsoka said, heading to her room and closing the door behind her. Now within the safe confines of her room, she tried sorting out her thoughts. It was not that she didn't trust Lux. She just couldn't share her pain with him. Not yet. She was genuinely touched by his offer, and wanted nothing more than to accept, but refused all the same. She had to remain strong. She couldn't show weakness. Not now. Not with so much turmoil going on. "I wish Master Anakin was here," she whispered to herself.

Eventually, despite trying to keep awake, exhaustion overwhelmed her, pulling her into a dreamless sleep.

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**Not nearly as long as the previous chapter, but I'm just as pleased. At least I didn't need a complete background from scratch. Please review!**


	3. Chapter Three

**Clash in the Elemental Countries**

**Chapter Three**

The Godaime Hokage was not in a good mood tonight. That much was obvious to the team of ANBU present. It all started when some unlucky chūnin decided to stop her as she was about to retire to her room and alert her to wildfires in the forest along with some "strange flying creatures". Her irritation at her rest being interrupted was shown by said chūnin being punched through a wall. Tenzou and a team of ANBU to her office to await her orders regarding the situation. Shizune had been sent to put the village on full alert.

"I will cut right to the chase."She went right to the point of discussion. "Sudden fires have started in the forest, presumably by these strange creatures that have been reported to me." Tsunade's irritation at not only having her rest being delayed, but also the fact that they were at risk of having their forest burn down was showing through the pulsing vein in her temple. "We have almost no knowledge of these creatures, other than they closely resemble dragons, can fly, and breathe fire. Your mission is to gather intel on these creatures, and, should you deem it necessary, neutralize any threats they pose by any means. And put out the fires if you can. I don't want to rename the village to the Village Hidden in burnt trees. Go!"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." The ten ANBU left as quickly as they came. Led by Tenzou, they were outside the village within minutes and leaping through the trees to the site of the disturbance.

"Tenzou-taichou!"

"What is it, Yugao?" Tenzou kept his gaze ahead as they leapt through the trees.

"What do you expect to find from these beasts?" The nervousness in her voice, which would have gone unnoticed on any civilian and average shinobi, was not lost on the attentive ears of the other ANBU.

"I expect that we shall learn something," Tenzou replied. "What that is remains to be seen."

"Was it wise to send only _ten _of usto deal with them?"

"Our primary mission is to gather intel. Sending more than us would be counterproductive towards that goal. And I would like to gauge their strength before taking action against them, and I think Hokage-sama has a similar thought running through her head. We shouldn't throw our strength blindly at a target we know little about."

"Hai, taichou. But it looks like those creatures, whatever they are, pack a punch."

A smirk graced Tenzou's lips behind the mask. "But we're shinobi. We have stealth in our side. Besides, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. And things that size can hardly be stealthy.

The sounds of crashing trees and crackling fires were audible now, and some of the trees the ANBU leapt on and from were shaking noticeably. Loud roars were heard, but that was expected from the two massive beasts. It made Tenzou debate whether the trees were the safest place, but he was confident that they could get out of the way of any incoming hits that were blindingly obvious. Exactly how can two gigantic brawling fire-breathing lizards the size houses be stealthy?

The answer? True to Tenzou's words, not at all. It was not long before the ANBU caught sight of the battle. Numerous trees were either toppled, splintered, or turned into firewood. Wisely, the ANBU gave the scene a wide berth, but kept their eyes on the two massive beasts. The smaller one, a deep amethyst in color, seemed to be on the losing end and had numerous wounds across its body. The silver-grey creature, easily twice the size of the amethyst, was dominating the battle completely. The amethyst had several gashes along the side, limbs, and face, bite marks along the neck and back, torn wings, countless burns, and seemed to be limping. It sent a torrent of fire at the silver in an apparent, yet hopeless, attempt to keep the silver away. The silver leapt through the flames, gaping maw wide open for a fatal bite to the amethyst's throat. Moving away at the last moment, the jaws of the silver clamped down on the amethyst's shoulder. The roar of pain echoed throughout the forest. The silver forced the smaller dragon to the ground and was closing in for the final blow, its jaws inching towards the amethyst neck.

Suddenly, it stopped, and it raised its head, looking around, as if something was calling to its attention. It looked down at the amethyst and snarled, before unfolding its massive wings and taking off. The blast of air was so great it even put out several of the surrounding fires. the silver beat flew off, taking a small figure that jumped on with it. The violet dragon was left lying and bleeding on the ground, limp and unmoving.

The ANBU looked at each other, as if asking for instruction. As of that moment, they were absolutely clueless as to what to do. The decision was taken out of their hands, however, as a scream was heard through the forest, and a woman, with hair the shade of copper and wearing very strange and foreign clothing, a sword hanging at the waist, and sporting a bleeding shoulder wound, was spotted running madly through the brush towards the fallen beast. The ANBU silently agreed to watch for something, anything, of interest or importance. What happened next was _very _interesting. The woman looked over the beast, examining the injuries, and removed numerous supplies from her bag, probably medical supplies from the looks of it. Some of the items appeared to be scrolls, although of a foreign style, but the contents were too far to be seen clearly by the ANBU. After consulting her scrolls, the woman set to work, applying some substance to the wounds, seeming to be disinfectants, before something _really _interesting happened. The odd woman raised her hand over one of the wounds, seemed to mutter several words, and a bright light shone from the palm of her hand and the wound began slowly closing over. Oddly, they felt no chakra emanate from either the woman or her technique.

The technique seemed to be incredibly taxing on the woman, because after healing one of the wounds, she was panting heavily, and after three, her chest was heaving, and her arm was shaking noticeably. Then, she touched the pommel of her sword, and she seemed to recover from her fatigue. They sensed no chakra there, but it seemed her shaking ceased, and her chest stopped heaving for breath. She didn't seem fully recovered, but she pressed on, continuing to heal the massive beast. It took several more hours for the process to be complete, but it seemed that the massive beast was completely healed. The woman however looked completely drained, body heaving, before she collapsed to the ground.

It was at that point that the ANBU leapt in, running towards the fallen woman and beast. Tenzou shouted out orders rapidly. "One of you, tend to the woman. Three of you, I want you searching through the items; see if you can find anything useful. The rest of you, put out the rest of the fires. I need new orders from lady Tsunade. Should either of these two wake up, I want you to take cover before you notice. Got it?" A chorus of "Hai!" and the ANBU were set to their duties. Tenzou leapt off for the village. He wished he had a Yamanaka with him, but he would have to make do with scavenging through the items for information.

With his mind running, the trip back to the village was surprisingly quick. Leaping on the tops of the buildings, the Mokuton user bounded for the Hokage tower. He wondered how Tsunade would handle the information he would give, and what orders she would issue to them. Most likely not kill; they would be too good a source of information of what happened. No, more likely, she would try to gain their favor and willing cooperation. But with a flying beast that could burn down the village, the chances of that were reduced significantly. The most probable outcome would be close observation of the pair.

As he entered the Hokage's office, he couldn't help but notice the team of ten ANBU present and their leader in the lynx mask at their head. Before he could comment, the ten shunshinned from the room, leaving little but wisps of smoke.

"From the looks of things, it must be really troublesome to have twenty ANBU deployed," Tenzou commented. "Is the threat really that bad?"

"Merely preparing for possible threats to Konoha," Tsunade replied. "A large shadow with floating lights flew over a half-hour ago. I sent that team who just left to investigate."

"You must be worried. Ten ANBU."

"A precaution," she answered. "Why are you back here, Tenzou? I gave you a mission, didn't I?"

"We need new orders, Tsunade-sama. We have some... interesting... intel."

She raised her eyebrow. "What is so interesting?"

"We've found someone. A woman. She healed the purple dragon."

"Healed it?" Tsunade was perplexed. Her brow furrowed and her gaze intensified. "Explain what happened, start to finish."

"When we arrived at the scene, we witnessed the last minutes of the dragons' - I assume them to be dragons from the looks of them - battle. The silver beast seemed about to finish the smaller dragon, but it seemed..." He pauses, searching for a word, "... called away for something. That might be the case, as we spotted someone jump onto the beast as it flew off. We had no idea what to do about the smaller dragon, but it seemed that decision was taken out of our hands."

"You mean the woman."

"Yes. We heard her scream and saw her run to the dragon, ignoring her own injury. She seemed to examine the dragons injuries before healing over the injuries."

"So she's a medical nin?" Those specialists were quite rare across the world.

Tenzou shook his head. "No, Tsunade-sama. It seemed that she employed a technique without the use of chakra."

"Without chakra? That's impossible!" Such a thing was unheard of in the Elemental Nations. Not even Orochimaru could pull something like that off.

"It seemed that she used a different sort of energy," the wood user suggested. "That is the most probable answer. That or she can hide her chakra signature completely. Not something she would have done given her condition and the concentration she was using to heal the beast. Anyways, after healing the dragon, she collapsed from exhaustion. My team is examining their personal effects and other items now, and we've kept them alive so we could gain possible intel on the dragon that fled."

"Well, at least you were smart enough to observe before acting. So you want to know what to do about the woman and dragon that remained."

"Hai. I have an idea of what you wish to happen, but I'd like to hear your orders straight from you. What are your orders, Tsunade-sama?"

"Hmm. Do you think they pose a threat to the village?"

"They are dangerous, but they are foreign, and perhaps know nothing about this village."

Tsunade remained seated, elbows propped up on the desk and hands entwined in deep thought. Tenzou wondered what was going through her head. On one hand, she could order their deaths. Not likely, given their need for intel. On the other hand, she could have them detained. Again, not likely. They needed their willing cooperation. And they probably did not have anything that could hold a dragon that size. The third, and seemingly best, option was to help them, therefore gaining their trust and winning their cooperation. The Hokage seemed to realize this and looked up at Tenzou. "Given our options, here are your new orders. Do your best to win their cooperation, and, if possible, bring them back to the village."

"And if they are a threat?"

"Then neutralize it," she said. "But learn what you can. Go!"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." With that, the ANBU captain shunshinned out of the office. But not before catching the Hokage muttering about the advisors' council protesting against her actions and initiative, and the paperwork it would probably generate.

Leaping back to the dragons' battle site, Tenzou wondered what would happen should they gain their 'guests'' cooperation. The advisors' council would probably be against it, but he needn't worry about that. The Hokage's word was law in Konohagakure no Sato after all. They could still be a major pain in the ass though.

When he arrived, he found the ANBU he left finishing with their assigned jobs. "What have you found?" he asked those assigned.

"We cannot decipher the scrolls, sir. We cannot understand the writing. But some of them appear to contain diagrams or illustrations. This one for instance, is a scroll on the beast's anatomy. We merely cannot understand the writing."

"Anything else of interest?"

"Not much. As we told you, we cannot understand the writing."

Tenzou nodded. "What is their condition?"

"Both alive. Merely exhausted."

"Taichou, what are our new orders?"

"Learn what we can, and, if possible, gain their confidence and bring them back to the village," Tenzou replied. "Now, let's clear before they wake up. Return the items to her bag. I want to remain inconspicuous for the moment. We'll watch while they sleep."

"Hai!" The ANBU leapt back into the trees.

It would be several more hours before either the dragon or woman would wake up. The dragon was the one to wake first. It seemed dazed. At least, that's what the ANBU thought from its looking around in a confused manner. Its gaze settled on the woman, still lying on the ground, before nudging her with its snout. The woman stirred after several minutes of nudging and a small growl, and sat up with a groan before looking up at the massive dragon. then she did something surprising. She stood and hugged the dragon's snout, murmuring some words the ANBU couldn't understand. Then, it seemed that she struck up a conversation with the dragon. The dragon seemed to be able to answer back, given the tone of the woman's side of the exchange, whatever she was saying. So far, the only thing the ANBU could learn from the conversation was the fact that the woman was apparently very close to the dragon and the dragon was apparently sentient and could communicate with the woman through unknown means. And from the tone of the woman, it seemed the dragon was chastising her; for what, they had no idea. Besides that, there seemed to be nothing else that could be gleaned from them talking.

It was several minutes into their conversation that the woman noticed her bandaged shoulder and her items back in her bag. From her frown, it seemed that she knew something was off. Just as Tenzou was about to give the order to jump in, he felt something brush against his consciousness. It seemed to be similar to the Yamanaka abilities. His training kicking in, the ANBU captain put up a sturdy wall around his mind, keeping the foreign consciousness out. From what he could see of the woman's expression, it seemed she was the intruder. Seeing the tenseness of his comrades, it seemed that she had tried to pry into their minds as well. After a seemingly failed attempt, she looked in the direction of the ANBU's hiding place and seemed to call them out. Their cover exposed, the ANBU complied.

Seeing the dragon's distrusting snarl, and the readied weapons of his comrades, Tenzou put up a hand, signalling them to put their weapons away. The dragon seemed to relax as the steel was sheathed, although the snarl was still there, and it moved closer to the woman in an obvious gesture of protectiveness. Raising his hands in a placating gesture, Tenzou tried to calm them. "We mean no harm."

The confused look on the woman's face indicated she, as expected, did not understand the words. However, she seemed to understand the gesture of appeasement, and gestured for her dragon to relax. The giant violet beast growled at the ANBU, but seemed to relax. Now that friendly intentions have been established, now it was a matter of establishing communication. Perhaps some introductions were needed. He gestured to himself and the rest of his team. "ANBU," he said.

The woman seemed to get the message. She gestured to herself, "Ismira," then the dragon, "Vervada." She then said something very strange. "Nosu eru fricaya." The words, although they weren't understood, seemed to have a calming effect on the ANBU. No words ever said to them before felt so assuring. Tenzou made a note to mention the strange sensation to Tsunade-sama later on.

The next challenge, establishing communication was extremely tricky. Tenzou had to resort to gestures and sign language and even drawing on the ground to communicate with the woman effectively. It was only after a frustratingly long hour of wild gestures and numerous revisions to the drawings on the dirt, they finally established that they wanted the pair to come with them to the village. Well, the ANBU just wanted to bring the woman. They were reasonably cautious about the dragon and the reactions it would elicit. The woman however refused to budge without the dragon, and the dragon looked ready to eat them should they argue. So, having little choice in the matter, the ANBU escorted the pair towards Konoha.

The going was painstakingly slow. There were not many pathways large enough for the dragon to pass through, and the ANBU had been sure to drill in the message not to fly. It took half an hour to get to the main road to the village, and another hour to actually get to the village. It was rather frustrating for the ANBU who could head back to the village in less than a quarter of the time. Heck, given the amount of time they used up, they could probably run from the village to the site and back five times.

Finally, the sight of Konoha's main gate came into view. Tenzou chanced a look at the dragon and the woman, and noted the lack of awe or surprise. He made a note to mention that as well to Tsunade-sama. They stopped at the gate and Tenzou turned to address them. "Wait here," he said to the woman and dragon, pointing at the ground for emphasis. Seeing their nods, he addressed his team of ANBU. "Keep an eye on them."

"Hai." With that, Tenzou entered the village, checked in with the guards at the gate, and leapt off towards the Hokage tower. He knew that the pair would not enjoy waiting outside, but it was necessary. He had to alert the Hokage of their arrival before a riot could start over the new arrivals, especially the dragon. That was also one of the reasons he left the rest of his ANBU team with them. He didn't want the guards on the wall to mistake them as an enemy. That would end very, very badly.


	4. Chapter Four

**Clash in the Elemental Countries**

**Chapter Four**

Tsunade was in a very bad mood this morning. She had been forced to remain awake the whole night keeping the village on alert. Keeping alert also meant no sake for her. Shizune had made sure of that. She sighed. She really wanted a drink right now. Seriously, where did those two beasts come from? Why couldn't they brawl somewhere else and burn another village to the ground? Oto for instance? Sighing, she looked out at the village. _It's morning now; the populace should be up and about._ She sighed again. _At least the village is intact._

She went back to her desk, looking for a drink, but Shizune had the foresight to hide all the sake bottles from her. She would have demanded that she hand them over, but she had already sent Shizune and Sakura to the hospital to ready the medic-nin for an attack. She should have asked for the sake before she sent them off.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts on sake. "Come in." Tenzō walked in the office and bowed before her.

"Hokage-sama."

"Tenzō ." Tsunade sat down behind her desk when he entered. "What is the status of our 'guests'?"

"They are ... compliant, Tsunade-sama, but we have encountered several minor ... setbacks."

Tsunade frowned and furrowed her brow. "What kind of setbacks?"

"Language barrier for one. It took an hour just to get the message across that we didn't plan on harming them and that we want them to come with us here."

"So they know nothing of our language. What else?"

"Well, there are a few more interesting things, Tsunade-sama." Tenzō seemed to hesitate as he tried to find the words. "I think the woman and dragon... are close."

"Close?" An eyebrow was raised. "How close?"

"They seem to be... well, attached to each other... they can communicate somehow. I think it is perhaps on the telepathic level."

"Telepathic?" Tsunade asked, nearly yelling in surprise. "How? Only the Yamanaka have that sort of ability!"

"I do not think it is a jutsu, Hokage-sama," Tenzō said, and was, unlike Tsunade was retaining his even tone. "It may be something else altogether. She has not used chakra at all he whole time we have observed her."

"Like when she was healing the dragon."

"Hai." Tenzō paused. "Tsunade-sama, there is one more thing." At her silence and wave to continue, Tenzō pressed on. "When we were... conversing, you could say, she did something rather... odd... and unsettling."

"What did she do?" Tsunade asked. She doubted anything could surprise her at this point.

"She said something... I think she said 'Nosu eru fricaya.' We had no idea what she was saying, but those words... had an effect on us." Tsunade raised an eyebrow and waved for him to continue. "It... made us, all of us, want to trust her and believe she meant no harm. I don't know what she did to elicit such thoughts, but that is what happened."

"You said she was a telepath. Could she have influenced your mind that way?"

The ANBU captain shook his head. "No. Prior to our conversation, I think she may have touched our minds at that point. We blocked her out when we felt it, and we would have felt her touch our minds again if she did so. So, no, I do not think she influenced our minds through telepathy. We would have blocked her out the moment she attempted to do so."

Tsunade's frown grew. "What if she did so more subtly?"

"The same thought crossed my mind," he answered. "That is why I came to report to you before bringing them into the village. I thought you might want a look yourself before deciding anything, despite your earlier orders to win them over. I advise caution, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade nodded, staring at her desk in thought. On one hand, she could let them in without worry. They had no reason to destroy the village after all. But then, after last night, paranoia would be rising, and there would be mistrust, even if she had them watched. On another hand, she could refuse them entry. But that would leave an unknown loose in the country, alienate a potential ally, and they would lose a source of intel. Locking them up would produce similar results. The fourth option was to let them in, but on the condition of a mind search. It would dispel any fears of attacks, and they would learn more about their 'guests', but at the risk of alienating them, but not as large a risk as shutting them out would produce. It was obvious, really; the fourth choice was easily the best option available.

Looking up at the ANBU captain, she said, "We'll let them in, but on the condition of a mind search."

"A mind search? Shall we call for the Yamanaka?"

"Not yet," Tsunade replied. "I would like to meet them before that. Get to know them a bit."

"They might not be so... responsive to your attempts," Tenzō said. "The dragon appears to be rather protective of the woman... and I don't think you want it as an enemy.."

"Well, I will just have to assure them of our benevolent intentions," Tsunade replied, getting up and walking to the door. "You coming?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Tenzō bowed again before following her. Without waiting for an order, the four ANBU bodyguards assigned to the Hokage appeared and followed her out the door.

"Tenzō ." Tsunade was looking at him. "What can you tell me about our guests? What are they like?"

The wood-user paused before answering. "Well, I can't say I know everything about them. But from what I can tell, the two our very close to each other, and quite protective. The dragon can be rather... fierce when it comes to that. She was able to hold her own against the other dragon that was nearly twice her size. The woman... well, she seemed friendly enough. Other than that... well, I'm not entirely sure what the both of them are like. You'll have to see for yourself, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade nodded. "Well, we'll find out anyway. After we bridge that language barrier, of course." As they stepped out of the Hokage tower, Tsunade saw a roof-hopping figure running towards them. It looked like an ANBU. "Is that Lynx, Tenzō?"

"Hai. He must be back to report in."

Said Lynx jumped down and bowed to Tsunade. "Hokage-sama."

"What is the status of your mission?" Tsunade asked, all business.

"We have made contact with the... shadow, last night," Lynx replied. "It appears to be a flying metal vessel of some sort. It is like nothing we have seen."

"You said you've made contact," Tsunade said. "How?"

"There seemed to be an opening at the bottom. It opened up to show a ramp, and two people walked out. A man and a woman. Although..."

"What is it, Lynx?" Tsunade crossed her arms. She doubted she could be surprised by now.

"The woman doesn't seem to be... human."

"Not... human?" Of course, she was proven wrong.

The ANBU captain shook his head. "She appears to have odd growths on her head instead of hair and ears. You might want to see for yourself, Tsunade-sama. They are already at the main gate."

"You brought them here?"

"They were harmless enough to risk it," Lynx replied. "And I thought you might want them under supervision, Tsunade-sama."

"Well, at least you thought that through," Tsunade huffed. She approached the ANBU and bopped him on the head. "That was for acting on your own initiative. That was dangerous." If he wasn't wearing a mask, Tsunade was sure she would enjoy the gobsmacked expression on his face. "Now let's go." The seven of them leapt off towards the gate.

"Hey, Wolf," Lynx called. "Were those your guests at the gate that I saw?"

"Yes," the wood-user replied.

"Even the big purple lizard with wings?"

"Yes, even that. And try not to say that to its face. You're likely to be roasted for that." The way the man said it, it seemed that he had witnessed such an event.

"It's intelligent?" That was a new wrinkle on things. Tsunade hated wrinkles.

"Very. Let's try not to get it angry."

Tsunade mentally chuckled at the concept despite the situation. It sounded so vaguely familiar. She wondered why.

It was quite crowded at the gate when they arrived. A large number of people had gathered and were staring past the gate and at those outside. There, just outside, standing there, were eighteen ANBU, three odd-looking people, and, just lying there, taking up the entire road's width, was a giant purple lizard.

"That's a big lizard," Tsunade said, wide-eyed. She then looked at the crowd, and scowled. "IZUMO! KOTETSU!" The two said chūnin leapt to attention. "Clear out the crowd."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" Like obedient and fearful little puppies, the two chūnin set to work dispersing the growing crowd of curious people.

"Wolf, Lynx, tell me what you know about our guests here. Lynx, you first."

"There's not much I can say about them. We speak different languages, so it was hard to actually learn anything. But what we do know is that they had no intention of coming here and they know nothing about Konoha or even the Elemental Nations."

"That is the same with our other guests, Tsunade-sama," Wolf put in. "They know nothing about us."

"Nothing, you say."

"Hai."

Tsunade sighed. This was going to be all the more difficult. "I'll talk to them and see for myself." _And language barrier be damned._

She had already decided on her approach. Calmly establish her position as leader and make clear the choices they had. Simple enough, she thought.

The foreigners had noticed her by now and had been all staring at her. At least she had their attention now.

She placed a hand on her chest, in a gesture to refer to her self. "Senju Tsunade." She then gesture back to the village. "Konoha."

They seemed to understand, judging from their nods. The redhead stood and followed the Hokage's example. "Ismira." Then she patted the flank of the lizard. "Vervada."

The Hokage nodded and looked to the other boy stood nodded to the horned girl and they both gave their introductions. The boy's name was Lucks Bontairy, or something like that, and the horned girl was something like Asuka Tano. Definitely foreign.

Now she needed to get a message across. Not so easy to do. She looked to the two ANBU Captains. They shrugged. "Draw on the ground and hope they get the message?" Lynx suggested.

Having nothing better to work with, Tsunade decided to go with that idea. She crouched down, tracing images in the dirt with her finger. The ANBU with he looked over her shoulder at what she was drawing, as did the foreigners. The resulting series of images all consisting of chibi versions of Tsuande and the foreigners with the village behind them, and connected with numerous arrows.

The first image was basically chibi Tsunade and chibi foreigners with the village as background. It branched off to two rows of images. The first of the two had a collection of chibi images of each of the foreigners apparently attacking or at least doing something wrong with the village. This was followed by images of Tsunade comically and literally kicking them out and/or beating them to a pulp.

The second image set was much more pleasant. It showed well the foreigners well-behaved (the giant purple dragon was extremely comical, sitting in a position like a begging dog with puppy eyes) followed by an image of Tsunade welcoming them in through the village gate.

Judging from their nods, they seemed to agree with the very simple terms of letting them in with the village. Tsuande then pointed two fingers at her eyes then at the guests. The message was clear. "We will be watching you."

The guests took some time to discuss amongst themselves, trying to find whether the terms were to the best interest of everyone. They seemed to agree.

They nodded to Tsunade who turned to the two ANBU and nodded to them before they disappeared.

* * *

Ahsoka had rarely seen a village of this magnitude. It was a magnificent, bustling civilization, almost a full city.

"I wonder who those faces are," she heard Lux say. She looked up, to the mountain where Lux pointed. Five faces, well-carved, looked down upon the village from their seat on the mountain.

"Well, the one to the far right is obviously this Tsunade character," the togruta replied. "Perhaps they are well known people of the village?"

"They have to be, considering they have their faces up there," Lux said. "We may find out during our stay."

Ahsoka nodded. She stared around at the different buildings. Some were obviously residential, others plainly market. She wondered where the leadership stayed.

She was quickly answered when the largest building, backed to the mountain, came into view. A large, wide structure that had a gate and wall before it. Five pillars were erected around the roof. The color scheme was red and white.

They entered the building (the large purple beast was forced to wait outside, following Tsunade in and up to what appeared to be her office. It was spacious the only item of note being the large desk backed to the window (where Ahsoka could see the purple lizard looking inside at them) filled with what seemed to be a mountain of unfinished paperwork.

Tsunade sat at the desk and sighed. She called out a name (Ahsoka thought it was a name), Shizune, before going to tackled the mound of paper on her desk, signing and stamping. She didn't look at the guests until the door opened and a young woman, dark-haired, dressed in greys and... carrying some sort of animal in her arms, entered. She seemed to notice the guests and nearly shrieked in panic at the large purple lizard outside the window.

Tsunade noticed her and quickly engaged with her in discussion before she managed to start panicking about the lizard. Tsunade seemed to be giving instructions, probably about them, if the glances back at them were anything to go by. After Tsunade finished, with the brunette looking flustered about it all, the latter approached them and beckoned them to follow.

Ahsoka had to wonder what the hell was going to happen.

* * *

So I finally got my lazy fingers moving and got back to typing this up. Enjoy! I'm honestly not too pleased with this chapter.


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